Design and evaluation of an interface prototype for content selection for a game that supports user-generated content

Abstract: Games that support a high level of customization is few, and their success varies, but it is an apparent trend that more and more games strive to offer players more highly customizable gaming experience. One huge part of the customizable experience beyond creating and sharing user’s creations is experiencing experiences created by others. Designing such an interface that support the user to do so poses many challenges. What do the users need? How should the content be displayed? What do users look for when trying to find something interesting? Those are just a few of the questions that need to be answered when creating a solution for such an interface. The question this paper tries to answer is: What are the main elements for a content selection interface that fulfill the needs of it’s users and meets their expectation for a game that supports vastly different gameplay experiences? A survey was sent out to get a grasp on what the users needs, with the results from survey and knowledge gained from the background study, an interface prototype design was developed. To get a reality check from potential users, the prototype was evaluated with user testing, and feedback from users was gained from semi-structured interviews. Result suggests that the proposed set of function and information available are sufficient for most user, and the structure was clear. However, there are some features that the users wish to see, which could prove useful in helping users find interesting content. The knowledge gained from the study resulted in a prototype and some suggestions for future work regarding similar projects.